The Adoption of Food Safety Practices and the Implications of Regulation for Small Scale Farms

Abstract

In this article we examine the adoption of food safety practices among produce growers in the south and discuss implications of food safety regulations in the U.S. Produce growers have adopted standard food safety practices to varying degrees, but there is still an adoption gap, particularly among small scale operations. Market-driven and regulatory food safety enforcement continues to tighten, and this can further hinder market access for small scale producers.